My encounter with Nigerians
some days ago in Madrid, Spain, during the shameful police character report exercise showed me some of the reasons why it would be difficult for our leaders
to do the right thing. I observed that Nigerians are very afraid of constituted
authorities, afraid to ask questions, afraid to demand their rights…. So, most
of the times, they resort to side talks instead of coming forward and formally
making their grievances known and seeking a redress for any infringement on
their rights.
I realize that most Nigerians do not like
their faces or names to be associated with any struggle or disconformities with
constituted authorities. And what is even worse is their ease at applauding the
sweet talks of their leaders who are experts in telling them just exactly what
they love to hear but never versed in doing what needs to be done; A new person
steps into power or prominence and he begins to promise heaven and earth and
immediately you see naïve and impetuous Nigerians applauding him for promising
to do what he should and will eventually end up not doing. Even when you are
bold in their midst to stand up and ask the questions, you see other Nigerians looking at you
as if you´ve just farted in public or as if you have done the abominable by
having the guts to ask their Oga sir or Oga Madam a question.
What Nigerians do not know is that they are the
Oga sirs and the Oga madams and that the persons they are afraid to come close
to or even ask a question are just their chosen servants. In fact, some
Nigerians try to discourage and even impede you from asking any question…. They
immediately begin to say it is enough even before the government official has
had enough time to convincingly answer your question. Those of us who are bold
enough to remind the government and its agents of their responsibilities are immediately
made to appear as anarchists and even booed sometimes.
In a country like Nigeria where it becomes a
luxury and a privilege to have the opportunity to be in the midst of those who
run the affairs of our country, no stone should be left unturned in the effort
to get them to answer the many yawning questions regarding their offices. If you are not clear about any issue, you should insist in its clarification. Sometimes,
the masses are the cause of their own injustices and the ones who permit their
leaders to treat them insignificantly.
No comments:
Post a Comment